So as you grocery shop for snacks and cookout grub, consider some of these healthy tailgating recipes and food swaps. Odds are, they’ll taste better and no one will recognize the difference as they polish off a platter of leaner foods.

Tailgating Food Swaps

• Pork Bratwurst for Turkey Brats: It’s a difference of 450 calories and 37 grams of fat for the pork, versus 160 calories and 9 grams of fat for the turkey. Still boil in beer and soak in mustard and they’re really quite tasty.
• Burgers for Chicken Sandwiches: A 6 oz. angus beef patty yields 500 calories and 43 grams of fat, whereas a 6 oz. grilled chicken breast yields 281 calories at 6 grams of fat. Season any way you like, and still add a slice of reduced-fat cheese!
• Queso for Salsa: Choose a baked corn chip and feel free to dip into a fresh or store-bought salsa. Just two tablespoons of the cheese dip has 40 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. Hearty salsas offer about 10-15 calories and zero fat per two tablespoons. Also consider guacamole or hummus.

Healthy Tailgating Recipes

Here are a few of our picks from DietsInReview.com that are sure to please a crowd!

Tunisian Spiced California Raisin Hummus

Rosemary Skewered Chicken

Southwestern Chicken PileUp

Chicken Chili

Black Bean Mushroom Quesadillas

Actually Delicious Turkey Burgers

All American Potato Salad

Fresh Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

Macaroons
Find more healthy recipes here at DietsInReview.com.

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10 Healthy Tailgating Recipes and Food Swaps

Food Safety

• Because Super Bowl parties can last for several hours, it’s imperative to keep track of the food you have out for your guests.
• Certain foods (containing mayo, sour cream, meats, etc.) should not be out at room temperature for longer than two hours because you don’t want to enter the “Danger Zone.”
• The “Danger Zone” is when the temperature of food falls between 40°F and 140°F; this zone is when food is most likely to become home for harmful bacteria that will grow and multiply.
• Learn the USDA’s 4 keys to food safety:

  1. Cook- Minimum temperature for poultry is 165°F; ground beef 160°F; steak internal temperature 145°F. Use a food thermometer to ensure meats are safely cooked.
  2. Separate- Don’t cross contaminate; keep raw meat and poultry apart from cooked foods.
  3. Clean- Wash hands and surfaces often.
  4. Chill- Refrigerate or freeze promptly.

Food and Nutrition

For most, Super Bowl Sunday consist of wings, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, chips, dip, beer, and other greasy favorites. This year, why not try to make some healthier choices?!

• Do a fruit and veggie tray with a low-fat dip or hummus; or nuts, cheese and cracker tray
• Try grilled chicken breast, or chicken kabobs (protein and veggies!)
• Instead of having food out and eating because its in front of you, listen to your internal cues, make one plate to eat and then snack on fruits and veggies.
• Don’t drink your calories; focus on water instead of beer, cola, etc.
• Grill or bake foods instead of frying.
• Remember portion control; don’t just eat of the bowl!

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Super Bowl Sunday Survival Tips

Watch Curtis prepare these dishes, and grab the recipes below.

• Instead of the Mexican-style layer dip with 1755 calories, try this 7 Layer Dip with shrimp and vegetables.

• Go with Turkey and Black Bean Chili instead of nearly 1200 calories in a chili bread bowl with sour cream.
  

• Ditch the 1000 calories worth of sauce-soaked buffalo wings with ranch dressing for this incredible Rosemary Skewered Chicken with Orange Glaze.

Curtis also showed how it’s possible to enjoy all the flavors of a Mexican dish, without all the fat and calories that leave us weighed down. Curtis helped David make this Grilled and Spiced Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, and showed that you really can have all the foods and flavors you love when you try to make alternatives.

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Biggest Loser’s Superbowl Recipes by Curtis Stone

Buffalo Wings Are Out: Deli Platters Are In

Everyone gets deep fried wings, but it takes originality to be a good host. Go to your local supermarket deli and order a platter comprised of beef, chicken and/or turkey cold cuts. Add in broccoli, carrot sticks and cauliflower to make it look like part of the arrangement, when it is actually an invite for people to get their vegetables. This will make it look like you professionally catered the party so you’ll be sure to get lots of compliments.

Make Your Own Trail Mix

You should never trust store bought trail mix. They tend to use extra additives and salt. Hit up Whole Foods and get some almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seed kernels and add in dried fruits like blueberries and cranberries. You’ll get more flavor and better nutritional value when you make your own trail mix.

Switch Up The Chips And Dip

Instead of potato chips and cheese dip, call an audible and bring in pita chips and guacamole with a side of salsa. Guacamole is a great source of good fats and is always a hit. Plus, you can get spicy salsa to satisfy the naysayers who were bummed that you didn’t get hot wings.

Find hundreds of healthy recipes perfect for your Super Bowl bash right here.

Guest Blog Series: Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on DietsInReview.com. See other posts in the Guest Blog series.

If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please contact us.

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Healthy Superbowl Recipes

On Thanksgiving, I will be surrounded by 40-50 family members. After we share our feast from appetizers to desserts, several of us will find a spot in front of the television to watch football and doze through commercials. Although I would like to see the Lions hand the Titans another loss (I am a true blue Colts fan!), surrendering to “turkey-daze” is part of the holiday, right? It is commonly believed that the tryptophan in turkey induces sleepiness; however, there is more to our holiday drowsiness than this one chemical.

Tryptophan is one of ten amino acids that the body cannot manufacture on its own and must be supplemented through diet. Tryptophan aids in the production of the B-vitamin niacin which then assists the body’s production of serotonin. Serotonin helps us regulate mood, aggression, anxiety, impulsiveness, body temperature, appetite, and sleep. However serotonin cannot cross the blood brain barrier, meaning we cannot create more serotonin in our bodies. Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (SSRI) medications work by trapping the available serotonin between neuron receptors to elevate

Tryptophan molecule

mood. Tryptophan is the only way to increase the amount of serotonin available to your body. The stuffing may be just as important as the turkey for your Thanksgiving nap; carbohydrate-rich foods increase the absorption of tryptophan in the brain. In fact, tryptophan alone works best on an empty stomach.

Other foods that contain tryptophan include: chocolate, oats, bananas, mangoes, dates, milk, yogurt, cottage choose, red meat, eggs, fish, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts.

On Thanksgiving, you are probably already relaxed with a break from work and the nearness of loved ones. A large meal, including tryptophan, is only one variable that helps create our holiday drowsiness.

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Tryptophan Explained

Fitness Tips For Football Season

• Drink plenty of water during the games (this will help decrease the ol’ appetite a little bit)

• Have fresh fruits and veggies available instead of chips or other fatty foods

• Get up and move around during the commercials (stairs or few laps around the house)

• If you have a treadmill or stationary bike, place those in front of the television and work-out while spectating

• Every touchdown or field goal do push-ups/crunches or any other selected activity (for a touchdown do 7 push-ups and for a field goal do 3)

• During half-time, or before the next game starts, take the dog for a walk or play catch with the football with someone special

Football season is a great time of the year for friend and family gatherings, please be careful and enjoy the time that you have together.

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Fitness Tips For The Football Spectators

This Sunday living rooms across America will be piled high with testosterone, beer and plenty of greasy favorites- tempting your self-control. To help you through this main event of eating, as Super Bowl is America’s second largest day of food consumption behind Turkey Day, I thought I’d share some healthier options.

Now listen- healthier does not been bland or boring. These tasty munchies will have your guests saying “we want more” and never once questioning how low-fat-carb-calorie they might be.

Our top Super Bowl food picks are:
Chipotle Chicken Cups
Stuffed Mushrooms
Beef Jerky
Crock Pot Hot German Potato Salad
Chicken and Red Chili Tamales
Pork Fajita Pitas
Buffalo Chicken Wings
Fireside Chili

Don’t deprive your sweet tooth either. Check out Cherry Almond Popcorn Clusters, Rocky Road Brownies and Smorgasbord Fruit Salad.

If these don’t trip your tastebud trigger- search through the more than 600 recipes on Diets In Review that are low-carb and Weight Watchers friendly.

Whether a Patriots or Giants fan- the real winner will be your delicious and healthy Super Bowl buffet.

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Kick-off the Super Bowl with lighter foods

So, this Sunday, stay calm and try some heart-healthy snacks.

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Super Bowl Could Cause Heart Problems…